Friday, May 15, 2009

Dr. Boyce Dismissed by Syracuse University

Hello to my friends,

In case you don't know, my tenure case was denied, which means I'll be dismissed by Syracuse University. I personally am not offended, as I didn't expect to receive tenure after the attacks by Bill O'Reilly last year and the work I've done speaking out on behalf of NCAA athletes (Syracuse earns tens of millions from athlete families and likely lost alumni donations after the Bill O'Reilly attacks - I stand by every word, however, since I won't allow a racist like O'Reilly to speak of lynching Michelle Obama or any other Black woman for that matter). Additionally, our business school (The Whitman School of Management) has not, to my knowledge, recommended tenure for any African American, in any department, in its entire 100 years of operating history (I can't concur with the conclusion that every Black scholar on the planet is unqualified to be here). So, while we can say all we want about elusive and idealistic concepts such as academic freedom, most scholars understand that the rules change when you are an outspoken Black man with no significant Black male power presence on your campus. My role was to support pre-existing intellectual, social and administrative paradigms, not to engage in active, progressive scholarship.

But the goal of this interview is not to talk so much about my tenure case, since I don't need tenure in order to be validated as a scholar (I get supportive email every day). The goal is to speak on behalf of my colleagues, many of whom are absolutely petrified of standing up to the administration in public (they typically agree with me behind closed doors and then say that they can't go public without being punished). A supportive senior colleague (who is not Black, by the way) made it clear to me that if I do not stand up on these issues, then it may be another 100 years before another Black scholar has the platform to do so. Being that I was the only African American on earth to get a PhD in Finance in 2002, I am used to fighting battles alone. I am willing to sacrifice the rest of my academic career in order to do so, for I see this as a great opportunity to help others.

But I stand out of respect and love, not out of hate or anger. Anyone familiar with the history of Syracuse University knows that racial progress has never come without struggle, so this is my opportunity to contribute to the legacy left by Jim Brown, my respected brother and spiritual predecessor. I would not be here were it not for the sacrifices of those before me.

So, this is the first of a series of conversations I plan to have on this topic, as my discussions with Cornel West and others have helped me to realize that what I am experiencing at Syracuse is not an idiosyncratic phenomenon. Academia is racially sick, and we must all give it the necessary medicine.

The first interview will be on "Make it Plain with Mark Thompson" on Sirius 146 and XM 167 at 6:30 pm EST. I hope you'll tune in. Also, if you want to see some of my commentary on AOL Black Voices, please click here. God bless.

32 comments:

Big Earl
said...

I can't believe that syracuse would do this. I guess things never change. They talk a big game about caring about black people, but if you look at their record on tenuring black people, it's as bad as some schools in the south. Education is one of the areas where racism is worst. They are losing one of the top black professors in the country.

Fuck Syracuse. They do this shit all the time and then wonder why black people don't like their asses. I hope they don't get any black players to come to their school because of this shit. Keep it going Dr. Watkins.

This is sorrowful. It is difficult to understand why Syracuse would do this to you. I wish you would consider coming to http://www.stcloudstate.edu , a public institution that values scholarly public services.

Even though most of these people don't know a lot about academic life, I know you do. Even though you probably have a case if the standards changed in mid process, you have to admit that your record is pretty weak. Come on now, Stock Option Watch? Journal of Small Business Management? Journal of Economics and Business? All "C" level outlets at best and Syracuse is looking for a few A's a good amount of B's and no C's at all. I don't agree with your outlook on race but I certainly believe you have every right to express it as much as you want but your outlook and your record are two different things and as it relates to your record, you didn't do what you should have.

Obviously GAH has not looked at the records of the other faculty in the Syracuse business school. Most of them do not have A hit publications and most of them do not have the world wide respect of Dr. Watkins. I have been in academia for decades and I know that it is white supremacist and judgmental comments like yours that make academia an incredibly dumb place to be. Nobody cares about any of these journals. What matters is your impact as a scholar.

I have seen the record of the faculty at Syracuse. Not all are very good, but they were better than the one that Boyce has offered in his tenure file. You have to have some A level pubs. That's a fact. At this point, his record doesn't. After tenure...he can do what his heart desires but he didn't put up a convincing file.

I don't know what to say about white supremacist comment since I don't think any white person is better than me (yes I'm black).

Regarding judgmental...of course I am. People with tenure judge the records of those going up. Referees judge the paper under review at a journal. I judge the performance of each student and then assign a grade. But if academia is such a dumb place, what are you still doing here after twenty years.

This is an odd statement"Nobody cares about any of these journals. What matters is your impact as a scholar." Most scientific discovery came from printed journal articles. How are we to know that you're a scholar unless your work has been vetted by peers? In addition, he should have known that places like Syracuse value journal publications, even if you think that they don't count. Maybe he should have sought tenure with you instead of his faculty colleagues because you have a standard of evaluation that clearly differs from that of most R1 schools. Bottom line...if you want to do what you want, get tenure first.

Syracuse university does not have a very good finance department. Given that Dr Watkins is probably the most well known black finance professor in the country, he should never have been in a mediocre department in the first place.

Academics are pathetic. They live in their own little world and give each other "prestige" and then exclude black people by saying they don't have enough of it. This man is respected throughout the world, but because 10 dorks across the country are not intelligent enough to understand work that impacts the world, they try to put this black man "in his place". Just a reminder of how dumb academics can be. They are also becoming less relevant in the real world, since most of my business school professors have never had a real job. They just publish in journals being run by their friends.

GAH is correct.In academia its "publish or perish." Dr. Boyce has been tried and found to be lacking. Yelling racism or expressing an ignorant statement like Setting the record straight said are just foolish and trifling. If Boyce has an actual case, which he doesn't, then he needs to lawyer up.

Whites see a business school that has not given tenure to a black person in over 100 years and they conclude that the most famous black professor in the world is just not good enough. The ignorance and arrogance is astonishing.

GAH is right. Out of 17 finance instructors, only 4 have tenure: 2 Indians, 1 Hispanic, and 1 Turk. Those tenured professors have published in more selective outlets such as Journal of Finance and Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis.

See for yourself : http://whitman.syr.edu/FacultyResearch/Faculty/Directory.asp#4.

You don't get tenure by being famous. Serious African-American professors would not want to be associated with Watkins because he spends more time trying to be a celebrity than publishing in his field.

Indians take care of each other in coalitions. They do that at my university too. Also, the "hispanic" is actually a man from spain. Your facts are flawed and incorrect.

Also, all of the faculty have just one publication in the top 3 finance journals, maybe 2 or 3. Also, many of their publications are with their dissertation chairs or with coauthors. Watkins has solo authored research and is the most famous black finance professor on earth. Kind of convenient how you keep going back to your little academic world when measuring this man's credentials. Let's talk about the real world, or are you afraid? You probably are, since you sound like one of those geeky, hide in the closet academics.

Research papers are reviewed anonymously without regard to the identity or race of the authors. Watkins is a self-promoter. If he spent less time writing about Oprah and Jay Z then he might have published enough real research to get tenure.

This was a routine decision. Most assistant professors in the Syracuse finance department won't get tenure either. It is bad for the perception of black achievement when people cry racism so easily.

I am a scholar myself and I can say that this so-called "anonymous review" is a damn lie. Also, while Watkins appears to be a self-promoter, I just love how the Syracuse University business school spends so much time promoting other faculty when they are in the media. Jealousy perhaps?

I just heard about Dr. Watkins getting an offer to teach at Stanford. I think that would be a better fit for him, since they are more liberal out west. Syracuse has a terrible track record when it comes to tenuring black professors. I am not surprised that this happened to him. But maybe their rejecting the most famous black finance professor in the world will be an eye opener for people who just think that all black professors are not as good as the white and indian ones.

Dr Watkins, I really hate everything you say and what you stand for. But I am willing to die for your right to say it. Syracuse University should have given you tenure, for you are the most significant scholar on that campus. This is a sad day for freedom in the academy.

has not given tenure to a black person in over 100 yearsWrong - The university has 90 black tenured faculty members, including the business school's Associate Dean of Graduate Programs, who has a Ph.D. in finance.

Boyce Watkins calls himself the "People's Scholar", however, anyone having been in a class with him will tell you that the only "people" he is referring to are black people. Watkins, himself, could be considered a racist in that he is extremely close-minded. Everything he sees is a race issue and will not even allow conversation of otherwise in his class room. A true scholar would promote such academic discussion. It is clear that he is destined for attention and fame, rather than being a true academic. That is why he didn't receive tenure. That combined with the dozens of letters (including mine) from students recommending dismissal.Thus far in Syracuse University it is my experience as an african-american student, that if a professor is qualified and connects with the right people he gets what he wants, and the black issue is sometimes seen as a positive because it boosts the pr of a "black friendly environment".

Definitely agree with this comment:"You don't get tenure by being famous. Serious African-American professors would not want to be associated with Watkins because he spends more time trying to be a celebrity than publishing in his field."